Security forces in Qatar detained two Norwegian Broadcasting Corp (NRK) journalists for more than 30 hours and deleted footage they gathered at a migrant labor camp as they tried to report on worker issues ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup, authorities said on Wednesday.
The Qatari government accused NRK journalists Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani of “trespassing on private property and filming without a permit,” as the two returned on Wednesday to Norway following their arrest. The journalists contended they had verbal permission from those they filmed there.
The arrests sparked a diplomatic dispute between Norway and Qatar. Norwegian news agency NTB reported that the Qatari ambassador to the country was summoned to Oslo’s foreign ministry over the matter.
Photo: AFP
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the arrests “unacceptable.”
“A free press is crucial in a functioning democracy,” Gahr Stoere wrote on Twitter. “This also shows the importance of this year’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize [to journalists]. I am very happy that Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani have now been released.”
The arrests show the ongoing sensitivity felt by the autocratic government of Qatar. Other journalists have faced similar problems and detentions while reporting in Qatar as well ahead of the World Cup.
Ekeland, a sports journalist, and Ghorbani, a photographer, had been in Qatar as the country marked one year to go before the World Cup.
“They had gotten all the permissions needed to conduct interviews,” NRK director-general Thor Gjermund Eriksen told a news conference at its headquarters in Oslo.
Ekeland said they “didn’t have a written permission” to film on private property, but those there approved it.
He said security forces in civilian clothes later came to their hotel and asked them to come to a police station.
They “were concerned that we were not allowed to film, but we were invited there by the World Cup organization to film there and there were a bunch of other media organizations there as well,” Ekeland said.
The security forces had a “tone that was quite harsh and they wanted to intimidated us,” but he said “there were never threats or violence.”
“We feel that we were treated well,” Ekeland said.
The journalists told NRK that they were not allowed to leave Qatar with their equipment.
The Norwegian Union of Journalists and the country’s football federation both criticized the journalists’ arrest.
Denmark’s Union of Journalists is urging all Danish journalists not to travel to Qatar to cover the World Cup, saying the country cannot be trusted after the incident.
“I do not trust Qatar,” said Allan Boye Thulstrup, the union’s deputy leader.
“I am afraid that the sources critical of the government risk disappearing or going to prison for a long time, and that they will not be treated nicely in prison,” he added, speaking on Wednesday to industry magazine Journalisten.
“It is of no use that Qatar first promises the press can work unhindered and that they then arrest journalists,” Boye Thulstrup said.
His union has more than 18,000 members.
“Now the authorities in Qatar know what is on the journalists’ equipment,” Boye Thulstrup was quoted as saying. “If [the journalists] have been in contact with sources that are critical to the government ... then it is a process in which Qatar has short-circuited the entire source protection.”
HOMETOWN ZERO: Fans relished the fall of former Brewer-turned-Cubs manager Craig Counsell, as Milwaukee braces to face the Dodgers, who in 2018 denied them a pennant Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names, but after they beat rivals the Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade. “You can call them the average Joes, but I say they’re the above-average Joes,” he said. The Brewers relied on contributions from just about every player to get past the Cubs. Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning, and William Contreras and Brice
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
‘IT’S BASEBALL’: In just the second error to end a post-season series in the MLB, the Phillies reliever fumbled a comebacker and threw to home, despite the signal Eyes red, Orion Kerkering on Thursday received words of support from his Philadelphia Phillies teammates. “Just keep your head up. It’s an honest mistake. Just, it’s baseball,” he remembered hearing. “You’ll be good for a long time to come,” they added. “It’s not my fault, then. We had opportunities to score,” was the message he kept getting. Kerkering made a wild throw past home plate instead of tossing to first after mishandling Andy Pages’ bases-loaded comebacker with two outs in the 11th inning. Pinch-runner Kim Hye-seong scored and the Phillies were eliminated with a 2-1 loss that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a
RSS